


London

by drugsandcaandy



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drugsandcaandy/pseuds/drugsandcaandy
Summary: There were a lot of things Ty understood perfectly. Computers, for example. The plot of any given Sherlock Holmes novel. Animal behavior.Romantic feelings were most definitely not on that list.
Relationships: Tiberius Blackthorn/Kit Rook
Comments: 9
Kudos: 162





	London

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this before Queen of Air and Darkness came out. Just found it again. Yikes.

There were a lot of things Ty understood perfectly. Computers, for example. The plot of any given _Sherlock Holmes_ novel. Animal behavior. 

Romantic feelings were most definitely not on that list. In fact, if he were to rank everything he understood on some sort of scale, “romantic feelings” would be somewhere between “people who say ‘literally’ when they’re exaggerating” and “Faerie jokes.”

So basically, things he didn’t understand at all. 

Granted, it wasn’t as if any of the Blackthorns had much experience in that area, but all Ty’s siblings seemed to have, at least, a basic grasp of the concept. 

While to him it made about as much sense as someone speaking a foreign language. He just didn’t get it. 

What he did know, however, was that he’d felt an inexplicable urge to smile whenever he’d seen Kit. It’d been about two weeks of that. He was confused. He was concerned. He didn’t know why he couldn’t stop thinking about the other boy, or why he wanted so badly to touch Kit’s hair. 

_Seriously._ What was it about his hair?

He assumed the feelings had something to do with romance for several reasons- a) as much as he liked certain other people, it wasn’t the same with Kit, and b) it seemed to be more or less what movies and books said a quote-unquote “crush” felt like. 

(He hated that term.)

Even with this (perceived) fact, he had no idea what to do. He halfway wanted to avoid Kit, but he didn’t want to push away the one person—at least, the one person not related to him— he could call a friend. 

So he mostly just started talking about the first thing that came to mind whenever he saw Kit. It led to a very strange conversation about Soviet satellite states at 2 a.m. 

But at least it was manageable. 

*

“Ty?” Kit poked his head in Ty’s room, and Ty cursed every cruel thing that created whatever his feelings for Kit were. “Brigid’s ranting again, and everyone kind of scattered, so I guess we’re on our own for dinner.”

“Great.” Ty dug his fingernails into his palm to keep himself from smiling. Stupid Kit, with his stupid face and his stupid eyes that happened to be the same color as the sky on a day with no clouds and his stupid hair that Ty just _really wanted to touch._ “I have £2 and half a bag of chips.”

Kit shrugged. “Put that with my seven cookies and Livvy’s apple and £2.40 and we’ve got a meal.”

“£3.40 could probably get us something at that burger place down the street. D’you think Julian will let us go?” Ty rummaged through his nightstand, looking for the previously mentioned chips. 

“I think Julian will be happy that we’re being independent and taking initiative to feed ourselves.”

“ _Really?_ ” 

“No.” Kit laughed. “I think he’ll let us go if we bring a fully stocked armory and three bodyguards. Each. But I also think it’s time you and Livvy learn the time-honored teenage tradition of sneaking out.”

“On your head,” Livvy chimed in, walking around the corner. “I’m down, though.”

“Me too.” Ty grabbed a hoodie and his wallet, shoving it into his pocket. 

Kit grinned like a maniac. “Perfect. I also may have £5 to contribute to this adventure, given that you two are taking a chance on it. Tonight we feast like kings!”

Livvy cleared her throat. 

“And queens! Ty, will you give me a soundless rune?”

“Sure.” Ty kept his tone measured, despite the fact that giving Kit a rune meant he had to touch the other boy, and the very thought brought half nervous, half excited tremors to his hands. He pulled out his _stele_ as Kit offered out his arm. Ty drew carefully, which was not a particularly easy task given his shaking hands. He was grateful when the rune was finished and Kit pulled down his sleeve. 

Ty and Livvy exchanged soundless runes as Kit explained the plan. “We can’t go out the front of the Institute at all. It’s too risky. Our best option is one of the empty bedrooms. It’s on the second floor, but the window opens out to a ledge, and we can climb down one of the trees next to it. It’s behind the Institute, so I say we climb the back gate and go the long way to the restaurant.”

Livvy laughed. “It sounds so high-stakes. Like we’re ninjas or something.”

“You basically are. You’re Shadowhunters.”

“So are you,” Ty reminded Kit. “You’re one of us.”

“Sort of.” Kit led the way down the hall to an empty bedroom. He went first, crawling out the window, pulling himself on to the tree by a sturdy branch, and jumping down, landing silently. Livvy went next, moving so quickly Ty barely had time to process it. He followed her path down, and the three of them set off for the back gate. 

It wasn’t particularly high, but Ty still had to boost Livvy up so she could find her first foothold. They jumped from the top of the gate, landing one after the other on the cracked cement outside. 

“Congratulations.” Kit’s smile was lit by a street lamp, somehow making him look even more angelic than usual. “We made it. You two have officially snuck out.”

“That’s great and all, but I’m here for the food.” Livvy pattes her stomach. “I’m starving.”

“C’mon.” Ty took the lead, the others following him to the rain road. 

The restaurant was a tiny, worn-down fast food place, but they had £1 burgers and that was good enough. Kit discovered it on their first day in London. 

It was nearly empty inside—a few workmen sat in a corner booth, and a young woman at a table was feeding her toddler French fries. Music played over the crackling sound system, and Ty found himself wishing he’d brought his headphones. 

“Money?” asked Kit, holding out his hand. They’d worked out a system, almost unintentionally: Kit did most of the talking. Ty suspected it was because he wasn’t good at talking to strangers, and Livvy let Kit take the lead so Ty didn’t feel singled out. 

While Kit ordered, Ty and Livvy found a booth. Ty drummed his fingers against the Formica-topped table, counting silently. He wasn’t used to being in public unglamored, and it was as if every eye in the tiny building was fixed directly on him. 

Kit slid into the booth, handing a receipt to Livvy. “We’re number 204.”

Livvy nodded. She glance over at Ty, the slightest of anxiety on her face. 

No one talked, the silence filled by staticky pop music and the now wailing toddler. Ty managed to calm himself enough to stop counting, a feat in itself given the restaurant’s noise and blinding fluorescent lights. For some reason, though, he was alright. Kit’s presence was calming, even when the other boy wasn’t doing anything. 

It was slightly frustrating, the effect Kit had on him. 

When their number was called, Livvy got up to get the food, returning without a tray piled high with food. 

“I love cheap food,” Kit declared, grabbing a handful of fries before Livvy even set the tray down. 

“Definitely better than anything at the Institute,” Livvy agreed. “I don’t even care if Julian finds out. It’s worth it.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Kit said, raising an eyebrow. “Your brother still scares the shit out of me.”

“Eh.” Livvy shrugged. “You’re just not used to him yet.”

Ty picked at his burger. The overwhelming urge to touch Kit’s hair was back. It was an insanely inconvenient urge. 

“Ty? You good?” Kit placed a hand on top of Ty’s. Ty continued to curse every god he believed in and a few he didn’t. 

“Yeah. It’s bright as fuck in here, though.”

(It was almost the truth. The lights _were_ bright. That just wasn’t the problem.)

“We can go back to the Institute,” Livvy offered. “I can get us a take out bag.”

“Sure.” Ty forced himself to pull his hand from under Kit’s. 

They walked back to the Institute in silence. The night air was cool, stinging Ty’s cheeks. They climbed back over the fate, sneaking in through an ancient, rusted window on the first floor. Ty took his paper bag of food and half sprinted to his room. 

Whatever Kit was doing to him was only getting worse, and it was incredibly frustrating. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kit—Kit, climbing out the window, Kit, lit by street lamps, Kit, sensing Ty’s anxiety like no one but Livvy had ever been able to do before. 

He punched his pillow. It made him feel slightly better. 

Until a knock sounded on his door and he decided the universe hated him. 

“Come in,” he said, defeated, knowing who it was before the door even opened. 

“Okay, something’s going on.” Kit shut the door behind him. “Are you okay? You’ve been out of it all night.”

Ty made a split-second decision, sighed, and abandoned all resolve. “No.”

“What’s going on?” Kit day on the edge of Ty’s bed, crossing his legs under him. The familiarity of it sent a jolt through Ty’s body. 

“I wouldn’t even begin to know how to explain it.” Ty registered his hands moving, though they seemed to do so if their own accord. “It’s you. I mean, that sounds bad. I’m not mad at you. You haven’t done anything. I just...you’re driving me crazy. I can’t stop thinking about you. I haven’t exactly had a lot of friends, but this is..different. I don’t know why and I don’t know what it is except I have an idea and it scares the shit out of me because I’ve never—I can’t—” He shook his head. 

“Oh, god. Hey. Ty. It’s okay.”

Ty couldn’t stop moving. It was pushing him to the edge—all the feelings, the words he didn’t have, the things he couldn’t explain. 

“Ty. Breathe. You’re okay.”

Ty squeezed his eyes shut and took a shaky breath, his hands stilling slightly. When he opened his eyes, Kit was staring at the blanket. He didn’t look upset, though, which alleviated at least one of Ty’s fears. 

“I feel the same way,” Kit said finally. “I just didn’t know what to do, because I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I never though—I mean, I’ve always thought I was straight, but—” Kit shrugged, “I guess you never know.”

“I didn’t even think about that. My sexuality is, like, the last thing on my mind right now. Or ever, honestly.”

“It doesn’t really matter. It’s all kind of bullshit, honestly. Labels just make things harder.”

“Pretty much,” Ty agreed. He didn’t really know what to say next. He certainly didn’t know what to _do._

Except he didn’t have to, because Kit spoke. “Can I kiss you?”

“ _What?_ ” Ty looked up at the other boy. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss Kit. He was pretty sure he did. “You know what? Never mind. Yes.”

“Yes?” Kit grinned. 

“Yes.”

And it just _happened_ —suddenly Kit was in front of him and they were kissing and the only thing Ty could think is _oh, this is what I’ve been wanting. This is what I’ve been trying to do._

Kit’s lips were soft, moving against Ty’s, his hand on Ty’s cheek, the world fading away, and Ty reached up to tangle his fingers in Kit’s hair, doing what he’d wanted to do for so long. 

As quickly as it started, it was over. Kit’s cheeks were pink, and he was staring at Ty with an expression Ty couldn’t quite place. 

“I like you,” Ty said before he could stop himself. “And I don’t know what I’m doing at _all,_ but I like you. I know that.”

Kit smiled, his face glowing. “Yeah. I like you too.”

And after everything, it was that simple. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
